Sunday, November 4, 2018

This is Denarius.

"Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks."~1 Thessanolians 5:17-18

If you’ve been to this blog prior then you know that on occasion I profile someone who is living on the street. I used to do this more often but haven’t in recent months simply because I myself have been broke and I usually give them some money—even if it is just a couple bucks—after speaking with them.

This said, I’m in NYC for the weekend and on my way back to my room last night met Denarius. I wasn’t going to stop but her sign caught my attention. It quoted a portion of one of my favorite Bible passages (which is above). So as I was walking I glanced at her sign then at her and as she looked up from a book she was reading our eyes met. Her eyes told me that she was a kind person so I stopped. After introducing myself I commented on her sign and she too agreed it was one of her favorites as well.

Denarius has only been in the city a short while, she took the Greyhound bus here from the west coast to escape a bad situation. That’s all that I know. After chatting for a few minutes I asked if I could take her photo, to which she agreed. She was also patient with me as I fumbled with the camera as I had forgotten I had it set for timed long exposure settings for photos I had just previously taken. We laugh a bit, then I snapped her photo. After chatting a bit more I parted.

The room I stay in in NY is a meager one...a room with a bed, table, and TV that rarely works, and a shared toilet and shower down the hall, but still it is grand compared to Delnarius’ accommodations. And on the way back to my room I kept thinking of the quote she chose for her sign, and the fact that she herself seemed as cheerful and thankful as it suggested. If I were o find myself in her situation I don’t know if I could maintain such positivity. My life is better because of meeting her, I pray she is well.